Rush to Glory — Robert L. Hecker

Robert L. Hecker's, Rush to Glory, lays open the lives to two rival brothers, Hal and Luke Bailey, opposites in every way, one of a more gentle nature, and the other possessed of unrelenting ambition. Set against the backdrop of W.W.II with all of Europe aflame, Hal proves that failure is often in the eye of the beholder and that success to one man is often total devastation to another. Determined to do his duty for his country, Hal enlists in the Air Force, is trained as a bombardier, and finds himself assigned to his brother's command in Thorpewood, England, base of the 300th Bomb Group. Luke, worried that Hal will somehow diminish his rise to the top, takes a tough stance with Hal and places him at the mercy of not only the German war machine, but also at the mercy of his comrades-in-arms. As Hal observes, "Apparently here when you gambled you had to do it with an intensity that was life or death; when you danced, you had to perform a ritual to living; and if you drank, you had to pour the liquor down as though there would never be any more."